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A car donation is a courteous and easy way to contribute to a noble cause. People can sponsor a school bus or donate a used school bus to an organization or any charitable group that works for social services. Organizations either use the car for the society’s needs or may even sell it to raise funds for their activities.

Many non-profit organizations are now willing to donate buses to schools. It is true that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated individuals can change the world. This is possible only because of donors who go out of their way to provide help to the needy.

Some non-profit day care centers use donated school buses to get children back and forth. They must be sure that the buses are in total repair and have no problems. They do not accept old school buses, and they have to be equipped with seat safety belts for each occupant.

Online sites are available that provide details of various school bus non-profit charities. People can either purchase them at a low cost or can even hire them. The website will tell you how to go about donating school buses and also provide information on how to receive a school bus from a charitable organization. Individuals can also register for these buses online.

The organization that people donate their school bus to usually takes care of everything from transfer of ownership to towing the car. All donors need to do is call the organization. If people wish to donate a school bus, online forms are available through many auto donation sources. Donors may submit the form and receive an early reply, with most vehicles gladly excepted. It is advisable to have the bus title ready and other relevant paper work required.

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Source by Thomas Morva

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My brother and I had attended Kishore M’s CFD course 3 years back and within 9 months, we made $80,000 and bought a Toyota Vios for my mom.

Just last year, we had attended his forex course and today, we are making money from almost most of our trades on a daily basis.

Then this is just from my own experience. Do not believe a word I say until you have read my review.

We paid Kishore M over 3000 Sing Dollars for the CFD and forex course and made over 10 times that investment.

More than 20 students had volunteered to support Kishore’s initiative in making a difference in a developing country like Malaysia and Singapore.

I’m glad that he had taught me how to trade because in this recession with the education system that we are all in, we would be just holding a piece of paper(degree) but not have any jobs because universities don’t guarantee a job but charge us huge fees.

I have recovered all my course fees which I had paid Powerup Capital but if I am jobless, I don’t think I would be recovering my university fees.

As far as the support from powerup Capital is concerned, Kishore M offers the best support,

1) we get daily alerts,

2) weekly live trading tutorial face to face with Kishore,

3) online forum where seniors help the juniors,

4) coaches are assigned to us,

5) We can log into powerup live trading room every week

6) Online chat support up to 11pm in the night

From my knowledge and experience, no one would offer such thorough support.

As far as Kishore M’s credentials are concerned, he is a certified hedge fund manager. A hedge fund manager knows how to trade every thing from forex, futures, options, cfd, commodity etc.

Kishore just happened to teach options first rather than forex since Asia is an equity driven market and people are more familiar with stocks and were looking for ways to hedge their portfolio hence options make a perfect fit not forex.

Now with the recession people are looking for ways to diversify their portfolio and are open to learning new trading instruments and forex being one of them.

In terms of reputation, my research tells me that Powerup Capital advertises the company using pictures and testimonials in Malaysia the same way he advertises in Singapore.

In Singapore, unless and until one can prove the testimonial are from real people making real profits one cannot publish the company in the newspapers.

Have you seen any Malaysian forex trainers advertising in Singapore? No this is because they cannot.

In Malaysia you can advertise and write whatever you want in an ad and no one would ask for proof.

Did you know majority of the forex trainers are Kishore’s ex-students who have either learned options or forex from Kishore?

To name a few, they are Terence T, Lily Thnieh, David G, and Koomar.

So this is just the background of Powerup Capital.

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Source by Jason Kevin Loh

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Since the very conception of the automobile, engineers and designers have been searching for was to make them more efficient and save on fuel consumption. Petrol fuels the majority of vehicles and diesel fuel is used in heavier automotive equipment. The internal combustion engine is considered to be a major if not the biggest source of environmental pollution and the cost of fuel is increasing every day.

With a constant rise in fuel costs and the environmental concerns regarding automobiles, vehicle engineers have had to develop more economical and environmentally safer alternatives to the internal combustion engine that powers most cars. This has led to the birth of the hybrid automobile. These hybrid automobiles offer a number of benefits. The hybrid automobile is a car that is powered by both an electric motor and a gasoline engine. Compared to non hybrid vehicles, the hybrid car saves on the cost of fuel by being more fuel efficient and has a lower rate of fuel consumption.

Hybrid cars operate on a dual mode where the electric motor, powered by batteries, takes over once the gasoline engine has gotten the vehicle up to speed. Braking and deceleration generates energy that is used to charge the electric motor’s batteries. This system allows the hybrid car to provide better fuel efficiency. This also means that the engine of a hybrid vehicle is shut the moment the car is stopped. Considered the biggest advantage to the hybrid car is the reduction of environmental pollution due to fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in to our atmosphere. Automobile manufactures such as Honda, Toyota, and Ford have already introduced hybrid car models to the commercial market and several others are in development.

Currently there are two types of hybrid vehicles on the market. The first is the “Series” hybrid. A battery powered electric motor powers the Series hybrid car. It also has a gasoline powered engine but it does not singularly power the vehicle. The gasoline engine powers a generator which is used in turn to charge the batteries of the electric motor. The electric motor is left on during the vehicles entire operation however the gasoline engine can be switched on or off depending on the needs of the vehicle. This type of hybrid automobile provides better mileage in city traffic.

The second type of hybrid vehicle on the market is called the “Parallel” hybrid. The Parallel hybrid car, like the Series type, has a gasoline engine and an electric motor. The electric motor and the electric motor can both be used to turn the transmission and power the vehicle. The major difference between the two types of hybrid cars is that the Parallel hybrid uses its electric motor to boost the vehicles power when required to increase the car’s speed. The Parallel hybrid car is considered better suited for the open highway.

Hybrid automobiles provide several benefits due to some very unique features. The construction of the hybrid vehicle uses more lightweight materials than traditional automobile. This saves energy by using less to propel the hybrid car. Hybrid cars also increase energy efficiency because of their more aerodynamic shapes. Tires used by hybrid vehicles run on a higher pressure and are made of a more rigid material than general car tires. The higher pressure helps to increase the vehicles gas mileage per gallon of gasoline used. The overall efficiency of the vehicle is increased by these tires because they reduce friction on road surfaces and provided a grip. The braking system provided an energy transfer from the electric motor to the vehicles batteries when ever the brakes are applied. The overall gas mileage of a hybrid varies from model to model. The EPA test numbers report that the Lexus RX400h receives 31 MPG in the city and 27 MPG the highway while the Honda Insight receives 61 MPG in the city and 68 MPG on the highway.

In conclusion, the future of automobiles is currently the hybrid car and purchasing a hybrid vehicle will not only save you money but will also allow you to take responsibility and do you part in creating a safer, cleaner and greener environment.

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Source by Christine Bettridge

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Kotler and Armstrong define marketing as “the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customer in return.” This definition alone can explain why marketing is important, but let’s outline several reasons why marketing should be one of the small business owner’s main priorities.

1. Marketing builds value in your products and services for your customers.

Most salespeople want to know as little as possible to make the sale. Some sales staff needs technical specifications and things of that nature, but ultimately, the less they have to learn the better. This makes sense, because their goal is to make sales. Therefore, marketing has to step in and create value for your customer. If you can not create value for your customers, why will they buy from you? Sometimes they will buy from you once, but will they come back if there is no value?

Many times, business owners don’t capitalize on all the ways they can give value to their customers. They get lost in the production or product concept of marketing and end up with marketing myopia. Marketing myopia happens when a company pays more attention to the product/service than the value or benefits it offers to the customer. You can not let this happen to you. Pay attention to your customers and why they buy your products. People buy a Toyota Prius not only because it saves on gas, but because it makes them fell more eco-friendly.

2. Marketing helps build customer relationships.

Everyone put emphasis on the sales staff when it comes to sales. “If the sales team doesn’t work harder, we won’t increase sales,” but this is not necessarily true. It costs three times as much to obtain a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. This means you need to maintain the relationship with your current customers in order to lower marketing and sales costs and increase sales.

Properly planned and implemented marketing activities are the only real way to build customer relationships. These activities can include a lot of things: loyalty programs, thank-you cards, customer appreciation events, free gifts, and so on. Each company must find a unique way to set themselves apart from the competition while building a loyal and long-lasting relationship.

3. Marketing establishes a brand image.

When you use FedEx for shipping, you know what you are getting: fast delivery, flexible shipping options, and better service than other shippers. Are all of these things true? They may be, but their marketing activities established all of these. FedEx will have to live up to these expectations of their brand, but their marketing department set the customer up with this image.

You must use marketing to establish your brand. Customers need to know what to expect from your company based on your brand image. What kind of products and what types of service will you provide the customer? Let your marketing tell the story and establish your brand.

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Source by Nate Stockard

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In today’s competitive world shorter product life cycles, customers rapid demands and quickly changing business environment is putting lot of pressures on manufacturers for quicker response and shorter cycle times. Now the manufacturers put pressures on their suppliers. One way to ensure quick turnaround is by holding inventory, but inventory costs can easily become prohibitive. A wiser approach is to make your production agile, able to adapt to changing customer demands. This can only be done by JUST IN TIME (JIT) philosophy.

Taiichi Ohno, a former shop manager and eventually vice president of Toyota Motor Company, is the individual credited most for the with the development of just-in-time. It is a term used to describe the Toyota production system, is widely recognized today as the one of the most efficient manufacturing system in the world. In simple words we can explain JIT only required necessary units be provided in necessary quantities at necessary times. Producing one unit extra is as bad is being one unit short. Completing one day early is as bad as finishing one day late. Items are supplied “just-in-time”. Ohno describes the development of JIT as

*By actually trying, various problems become known. As much problems become gradually clear, they taught me the direction of the next move. I think that we can only understand how all of these pieces fit together in hindsight.

The concept is very simple, if you produce only what you need when you need it, then there is no room of error. JIT has truly changed the face of manufacturing and transformed the global economy. JIT is both a philosophy and collection of management methods and techniques used to eliminate waste (particularly inventory). In JIT workers are multifunctional and are required to perform different tasks. Machines are also multifunction and are arranged in small U-shaped work cells that enable parts to processed in a continuous flow through the cell. Workers produce pars one at a time within cells and transport those parts between cells in small lots. Environment is kept clean and free of waste so that any unusual occurrence are visible. Schedules are prepared only for the final assembly line, in which several different models are assembled at the same line. Requirements for the component parts and subassemblies are then pulled through the system. The “PULL” element of JIT will not work unless production is uniform and lot sizes are low. Pull system is also used to order material from suppliers (fewer in numbers usually). They make be requested to make multiple deliveries of the same item in the same day, so the manufacturing system must be flexible.

Just-in-time inventory is viewed as the waste of resources and considered as obstacle in improvement. As there is little buffer inventory between the workstations, so the quality must be high and efforts are made to prevent machine breakdowns. When all these things are taken into consideration, system produces high-quality goods, quickly and at low cost. This system is also being able to respond to changes in customer demands. These elements of JIT can also be applied to the almost any operation, including service operations.*K.Suzuki, The Manufacturing Challenge(New York: Free Press, 1985), p250

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Source by Ali Abbas

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2011 Toyota Sequoia

For one of the most reliable manufacturer names in the industry, style and class, and a great safety packed SUV, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia is a great choice for all consumers looking for a top of the line SUV today. Although it is a little on the pricier end, with the base model coming in at $ 40,030, it is well worth it if you want a quality and powerful SUV. It features a massive interior space with roomy seating, even in the third row seats, an extremely quiet and smooth ride on the highway, offers quick acceleration, and offers a high towing capacity.

The SR5 base model offers a powerful 4.6 liter, V8 engine, with an automatic transmission. Although not the best in gas mileage, getting 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 miles per gallon on the highway, it is still comparable with other SUVs as far as gas mileage. It features Bluetooth wireless technologies, a 4 wheel drive, iPod input connections, satellite radio, side and curtain airbags, a navigation system, stability and Traction control, and fold-down third row seats. So, although it is at a high price range, the features on the inside are luxurious features, and the safety features are at the top of the industry standards.

There are several prices for the 2011 Toyota Sequoia starting with the base, and going all the way up to the Platinum FFV model, with a price tag of $ 60,405. This model offers a much more powerful engine at 5.7 liters, V8 flex-fuel engine, with an automatic transmission. It also adds in a DVD player, leather interior seats, additional cargo space, all-season tires, touch-screen navigation system, heated and adjustable front seats, automatic transmission, and all the interior class you can imagine. So if you want luxury, class, style, and most importantly optimal safety for you and your family, the Platinum FFV may come at a cost, but you will not be sorry about the purchase. Not only that, it offers a great re-sale value on the market as well.

With a more powerful 310 horsepower engine than its previous 2010 model, additional safety features added in, the ability to reach 60 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds, which is comparable to a sedan style car, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia will not disappoint consumers; either in style, interior luxury and the roomiest interior seating, style, the safest and smoothest ride available, and the ever trusted Toyota named backing up its performance features. So, when considering your next new SUV purchase, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia should be a great contender for any consumer searching for a new SUV, especially if you want luxury features, for much less than most luxury SUVs (Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes) today; and still, you get the luxury features those vehicles offer.

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Source by Todd Rip

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Source by

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Supply Chain Management (SCM) as defined by Tom McGuffog is “Maximising added value and reducing total cost across the entire trading process through focusing on speed and certainty of response to the market.” Due to globalization and ICT, SCM has become a tool for companies to compete effectively either at a local level or at a global scale. SCM has become a necessity especially for manufacturing industry when it comes to deliver products at a competitive cost and at a higher quality than their competitors. Here are some of the reason SCM has become important to today’s manufacturing industry:-

Competitive Edge through Core Competencies

Today’s business climate has rapidly changed and has become more competitive as ever in nature. Businesses now not only need to operate at a lower cost to compete, it must also develop its own core competencies to distinguish itself from competitors and stand out in the market. In creating the competitive edge, companies need to divert its resources to focus on what they do best and outsource the process and task that is not important to the overall objective of the company. SCM has allowed company to rethink their entire operation and restructure it so that they can focus on its core competencies and outsource processes that are not within the core competencies of the company. Due to the current competitive market, it is the only way for a company to survive. The strategy on applying SCM will not only impact their market positioning but also strategic decision on choosing the right partners, resources and manpower. By focusing on core competencies also will allow the company to create niches and specialization of core areas. As stated in the Blue Ocean Strategy outlined by Chan Kim, in order to create a niche for competitive advantage, companies must look at the big picture of the whole process, and figuring out which process can be reduce, eliminate, raise and create.

As an example stated by Chan Kim, the Japanese automotive industries capitalise on its resources to build small and efficient cars. The Japanese automotive industries gain competitive edge by utilising their supply chain to maximise their core competencies and position itself in a niche market. The strategy works and now Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese company, is considered to be the number one auto car maker in the world beating Ford and General Motors of the United States.

Value Advantage

SCM has allowed business nowadays to not just have productivity advantage alone but also on value advantage. As Martin Christopher in his book, Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Strategies for Reducing Cost and Improving Service’ states, ‘Productivity advantage gives a lower cost profile and the value advantage gives the product or offering a differential ‘plus’ over competitive offerings.’ Through maximizing added value and also reduce the cost in the same time, more innovation can be added to the product and process. Mass manufacturing offers productivity advantage but through effective supply chain management, mass customization can be achieved. With mass customization, customers are given the value advantage through flexible manufacturing and customized adaptation. Product life cycles also can be improved through effective use of SCM. Value advantage also changes the norm of traditional offerings that is ‘one-size-fits-all.’ Through SCM, the more accepted offerings by the industry to the consumers would be a variety of products catered to different market segments and customers preferences.

As an example, the Toyota Production System practiced in Toyota, evaluates its supply chain and determines what is value added activities and what is not value added activities. Non added value activities are considered to be ‘Muda’ or waste and therefore must be eliminated. Such non added value activities are overproduction, waiting, unnecessary transport, over processing, excess inventory, unnecessary movement, defects and unused employee creativity. The steps taken to eliminate waste are through Kaizen, Kanban, Just-in-time and also push-pull production to meet actual customer’s demands. The Toyota Production System revolutionise the Supply Chain Management towards becoming a leaner supply chain system that is more agile and flexible towards meeting the end users demands.

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Source by Razamith Sovereign

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Todays sophisticated European engines produce higher horsepower densities per cubic inch and subject the engines oil to severe operational conditions. Throw in all the emissions control equipment on these cars and the oils used must demonstrate exceptional anti-wear performance and meet the strict formulation requirements needed to meet the most current European motor oil specifications.

Those specifications at this writing are VW 504/00/507.00, VW, 502, 505 and 505.01, BMW LL-04, Porsche C-30, ACEA C-3, ACEA A3-B3/B4, Mercedes Benz 229.31 and 229.51 etc. Since most European car makers specify oil change intervals that are considerable longer than those of U.S car makers, oils meeting these specifications need to demonstrate excellent high temperature/high shear performance (HT/HS) to maintain viscosity and provide adequate engine protection.

In addition, turbocharged direct injection (TDI) engines are common in European vehicles. Motor oils used in these applications must be very thermally stable to handle the high operating temperatures and resist deposit formation while providing adequate turbocharger cooling. Thermally stable oils help keep oil passages clean and promote fluid circulation so turbocharger bearings stay cool and lubricated

Because of the sophisticated and extremely efficient pollution control equipment used on European vehicles, almost all European car makers require oil used in these applications to be formulated with lower amounts of sulphated ash, phosphorous and sulfur. (SAPS) SAPS is a commonly used anti-wear additive in motor oils.

The problem is that oils with excessive sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulfur (SAPS) can harm modern exhaust treatment devices. Diesel particulate filters (DPF’s), for example, require low-SAPS motor oil to help prevent filter plugging. This is why using motor oil that does not meet the correct specification can cause engine problems and that annoying check engine light to come on!

Because SAPS additives provide a high degree of wear protection, its reduction has caused some motor oil formulators considerable difficulty in producing a engine oil that both provides outstanding protection and meets the car makers requirements for use with their engine advanced pollution control equipment. The most ideal motor oil for European engine is high grade synthetic oils engineered for the above specifications. Synthetic oils have very low pour points protecting the engine from oil starvation and providing immediate oil pressure when the outside temperature is low while its thermal stability withstands high-temperature/high-RPM breakdown to resist deposit formations that starve TDI systems of lubrication.

This is why some of the biggest names in European cars such as Mercedes and Porsche are factory filled with synthetic oil and many require the use of synthetic oil to maintain the cars warrantee.

Amsoil Inc. introduced the first American Petroleum institute rated motor oil in 1972. Today Amsoil is considered the world leader in high grade synthetic lubrication and offers synthetic motor oils specifically engineered for the most demanding European car applications.

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Source by Larry Crider

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What is the Dealer mark up on a used RV?

The typical dealer mark up on a used RV is 30 to 45% above wholesale RV invoice price. With extremes at 10 to 60%. The Manufacture’s suggested retail price is generally 30-40%, but most RV dealers are free to sell the RV for a price that they can get the most for it. High volume RV dealers typically sell more RVs at lower margins. Smaller volume rv dealers may sell less but expect more profit on each unit.

What is the wholesale invoice price amount? This is the price that the dealer paid for the motor home. Most dealers will not let you see this price up front. A few will. Even though they have list prices of 30 to 50% above RV wholesale invoice, most dealers like to make at least a 30% margin on their inventory. You should always be able to talk them to at least 30% over wholesale invoice. If I can buy a car for $500 over the wholesale invoice, can’t I do the same think with a motorhome? To stay in business a dealership would have to sell for a minimum of 10-20%. RVs are much more expensive then cars and require more overhead.

Are their any other advantages to being a high volume dealer? Yes being a high volume dealer also allows you to get manufacturers rebates from $50 to 15% cash back from the manufacture. This depends on how aggressively the manufacturer is working to promote products or increase market share.

What amount should I offer the RV dealer and how do you calculate this amount? If you know the rv wholesale pricing or invoice amount (the amount the dealer paid) for the motorhome, in a competitive market just add 15 to 20% to the wholesale amount to make your offer. If you don’t know the wholesale amount, here is a good way to estimate it: 1) Divide the SRP(suggested retail price) by 1.4. (This Assumes the average a 40% mark up) ex. List price 140,000/1.4 is equal to 100,000 wholesale invoice price. 2) Add a 30% mark up to the invoice price to bring it to $130,000 this an offer that a dealer will almost never refuse. 3) If you are a bargain shopper or feel that the dealer is in a pinch or in a competitive market offer of invoice plus a 20% mark up =$120,000 4) Probably the best deal you will find on the current years model is a 10% mark up for $110,000 above the wholesale RV invoice. Most dealers won’t accept this though.

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Source by Spencer Arnold